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Malawi’s only Catholic Television in Need of Funds to Replace Damaged Equipment

Fr. Jailos Mpina of Luntha TV at the scene of a fire that damaged Malawi Telecommunications Limited’s broadband hub in Lilongwe

By Magdalene Kahiu

Lilongwe, 30 January, 2020 / 3:36 am (ACI Africa).

Following the inferno that destroyed broadcasting equipment at the Malawi Telecommunications Limited (MTL) hub in the country’s capital Lilongwe and affected communication gadgets in stations linked to it including “Luntha TV, the only Catholic Television station in the Southeastern Africa nation, assistance is being sought to replace the damaged gadgets and get back on air.

“Luntha TV has been terribly affected and we are now off air. We do not have enough funds to get back and what was burned has to be recovered,” the TV station’s Director of Operations, Fr. Jailosi Mpina told ACI Africa in an interview early this week.

Recalling the evening of January 14, Fr. Mpina said he noticed that the TV station was off air and upon calling an engineer based at Malawi Digital Broadcasting Network Limited (MDBNL), the distributors of the broadcast signal, he was informed of the unfortunate fire incident. 

“We heard that there was a fire in Area 3 where Malawi Telecommunications Limited have a head house and a place where MDBNL have their centre for the whole country,” the Malawian cleric recalled.  

He said the station would need 50,000 Euros to replace the damaged equipment.

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“We really ask for support so that we are able to be back on air,” Fr. Mpina, a member of the Montfort Missionaries, appealed during the Monday, January 27 interview. 

Founded in 2007 by the Montfort Missionaries, Luntha TV derives its name from Chichewa, one of the native languages in Malawi, meaning “wisdom.”

With a mission to bring good news to all people in a holistic approach, the TV enjoys a countrywide coverage in Malawi as a free-to-air channel.

It was ranked the second most watched television in the 2016/2017 survey carried out by Malawi Communications Regulatory Commission (MACRA). 

According to Fr. Mpina, the TV’s current situation is failing the people by not reaching them when they need information.

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“The situation is a sad moment where Malawians seek to be informed," he said and noted that though some stations are on air, especially those on payable decoders such as DSTV, "the Malawians in the village or in the middle class cannot afford that. So, there are few Malawians who are able to watch and be updated on what is happening.”

He also revealed that although the station is off air on the MDBNL channel, it is live on social media platforms. 

The Director of the Luntha TV, Fr. David Niwagaba has lamented the state of things at the station stating in a letter, “being off air compromises the whole purpose of Luntha TV’s existence.”

“There is no proclamation of the Good News to the people as the family of God. All our viewers in the whole country are lost in the mission of evangelization through the only Catholic television station in Malawi," Fr. Niwagaba lamented in his letter sent to ACI Africa January 27. 

Being off air for long can have far-reaching repercussions, the cleric noted in his letter and explained, “The broadcasting license of Luntha TV clearly stipulates that Luntha TV shall strive to keep its station on air 24 hours 7 days. The government may soon find a justification to revoke the license for being off-air for long.”

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Some of the damaged equipment needing replacement include decoders, encoder, POE power supply, Ethernet cables, Ethernet switch, HDMI to SDI converter, and radio wave link, among others.

Magdalene Kahiu

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.